Who it is for
For leaders who need to move fast and make AI decisions without writing a line of code.
Leadership & Strategy / Advanced
The Executive AI
High-level AI strategy for leaders who need to move fast and make decisions — not write code.
The problem
It starts with the situation you're actually in.
You've already made dozens of AI decisions — most without realizing it. You approved a budget line for "AI initiatives," and the calls only compound from there.
You've built a mental architecture for AI decisions: knowing where models break, ranking opportunities by real strategic weight, designing governance before deployment, and measuring against business outcomes instead of model metrics. That architecture is only worth what you do with it in the next 90 days.
Outcomes
What you'll be able to do.
The Prioritization Problem Nobody Admits
You cut through the thirty-seven AI proposals on your desk — each from a team that's been building quietly for eight months and now wants budget — and rank them by genuine strategic weight.
The Gap Between Experiment and Accountability
You see how a 2019 Science paper by Ziad Obermeyer and colleagues exposed a governance failure running invisibly at scale across U.S. health systems — and how to close the gap between experiment and accountability.
Why Vague Instructions Produce Vague Output
Every large language model generates the most statistically probable completion of its input. You learn why generic instructions default to what sounds broadly correct for the widest audience — and how to direct sharper output.
The Autonomous Frontier
You face the autonomous frontier: a mid-market manufacturer's procurement agent that, over three days with no one reviewing the queue, sent formal RFP documents to eleven vendors — and decide what agents may do unsupervised.
Inside the book
A closer look at the work inside.
Decisions That Stay on Your Desk
Some decisions don't get delegated. Each shapes competitive position, risk exposure, or resource allocation in ways that demand your judgment, your full view of the organization, and your accountability.
Where the Framework Breaks Down — and What to Do
No framework handles every case. Two situations force an override of the two-axis model — starting with regulatory or risk-reduction imperatives, where a regulator, board risk committee, or legal requirement, not feasibility-and-impact scoring, governs the call.
Workbook: The Pre-Commitment Review
Before any AI initiative moves from proposal to approved budget, work four questions through with the sponsor. Each surfaces a failure mode the scoring template can miss, beginning with: where did this recommendation come from?
The Decision Before the Budget Checklist
- The build-buy-partner recommendation was scored by a neutral party, not the requesting team.
- All six decision criteria were evaluated explicitly, not assumed.
- A three-year total cost of ownership estimate exists for at least two options.
- The 90-day success definition is written and agreed before approval.
- Vendor lock-in risk has been assessed for any buy or partner option.
- Regulatory category has been confirmed and compliance obligations are documented.
- For partner decisions: a knowledge transfer and exit condition is written into the contract terms.
- For build decisions: the internal engineering team has been assessed against the specific capability required, not just general seniority.
Governance Readiness Diagnostic
Run this before your next board or leadership review of AI governance. No consultant or multi-week assessment required — just honest answers to concrete questions about each active or planned AI system that affects customers, employees, or significant business outcomes.
Where the Framework Breaks Down — and What to DoInside the book
Visual preview
A diagram you can keep open while you work.
Table of contents
10 chapters, built to be read in order.
01
The Delegated Trap — Why AI Strategy Belongs in the C-Suite
02
The Executive's Minimum Viable Knowledge — How AI Actually Works
03
Mapping the Value — A Framework for Identifying High-Impact AI Opportunities
04
The Decision Architecture — Build, Buy, Partner, or Wait
05
Governing the Machine — Risk, Ethics, and Executive Accountability
06
Leading the Transformation — Talent, Culture, and Organizational Readiness
07
Measuring AI's Return — The Metrics That Actually Matter
08
The Prompt Layer — How Executives Direct, Evaluate, and Override AI Systems
09
The Autonomous Frontier — What Every Executive Must Decide About Agentic AI
10
The 90-Day AI Strategy Sprint — From Commitment to Measurable Impact
160
Pages
24,879
Words
31
Exercises, checklists & tools
10
Chapters
Formats
Three formats. One purchase.
EPUB, PDF, and HTML are included so the book can work on an e-reader, as a designed copy, or as a searchable desk reference.
EPUB
For e-readers and reading apps.
The designed edition with diagrams and layouts intact.
HTML
Searchable, copy-pasteable, and practical as a reference.
Complete guide
The Executive AI
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Before you buy
Questions, answered.
Does this include the full book?
Yes. You get the complete edition, including the chapter sequence and internal materials described on this page.
Which formats are included?
EPUB, PDF, and HTML are included so you can read on an e-reader, keep a designed copy, or use the searchable browser version.
What is the refund policy?
Because this is an instant digital download, broad change-of-mind refunds are not offered after the files have been accessed. Refund requests are reviewed within 7 days for duplicate purchases, accidental purchases before access, access failures we cannot fix, wrong files, corrupted files, or pages that materially misdescribe the book.